Apparatus for separating and, if desired, sorting flat circular objects



A. SCHUITEMA 2,680,516 APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND, IF DESIRED, SORTING FLAT CIRCULAR OBJECTS Filed Feb. 11, 1953 June 8, 1954 Patented June 8, 1954 I APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND, IF DESIRED, SORTING FLAT CIRCULAR OBJECTS Albert Schuitema, Amsterdam, Netherlands Application February 11, 1953, Serial No. 336,385 3 Claims. (Cl. 209 97) This invention relates to an apparatus for sep- Fig. 2 is a section of the rotatable feeding arating and, if desired, sorting fiat circular obdisc and of the counting disc taken on the line jects, for example, pharmaceutical tablets or 11-41 in Fig. 1. coins, in which a segment-shaped marginal por- Fig. 3 shows the counting disc in another position of a counting disc rests on a horizontal tion.

feeding surface which is movable in a horizontal Fig. 4 shows a sorting aperture at the moment direction within a confining wall, which countwhen a coin meant for this aperture arrives over ing disc has its circumference provided with init and cisions, the side walls of which, in the same sense Fig. 5 shows a sorting aperture across which make a sharp angle with the circumference of lo a coin of larger diameter is passed. the disc and which disc, fitting within a ledge Fig. 6 sh ws a ountin avi y pabl of con partly surrounding it, is mounted on a vertical taining a pl i y o Co t & t m said cavity shaft for rotation over a support comprising one having ts leading edge p v d W th a number or a plurality of discharge apertures adapted to of recesses. be brought into register with the incisions of the In the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 counting disc, said counting disc being so couthe reference numeral I designates a rotatable pled with a driving mechanism that wh n th flat feeding surface which is a circular disc here, apparatus opeiates norma ly the undercut said 011 Whieh the 001118 are Spread out h s e d n edges of the more ons are the leading ones (1158 18 mounted a Shaft 3 y means Of a An apparatus of thi type i k In t 20 flange 2 and can be rotated in the direction of known apparatus which has the above features, the A circular Counting disc 3 ha in side of said conveyor belt. It was found that in With the upper Side of the feeding disc This an apparatus of this construction the filling of the counting disc is Dr Ovided with Slots 7 and 3 which counting cavities does not always proceed reguregister with raised engaging elements on the m, flange 6. By means of a nut 9 the disc 4 is kept This complication can be avoided if according pressed against the flange 6 and against the to the invention the feeding surface is formed upper Side of the feeding disc as a disc mounted for rotation about a vertical The shaft parallel to the Shaft 3 91161111 the shaft, the driving mechanism of said disc and. of present embodiment the former is 90119195 with the counting disc as well as the undercut side the 1atter by means of gears and I I, so that feeding disc moving at a higher speed than the Point of .contact between the disc 4 and the 4O feeding disc I the speed of movement of the cular Objects lying on the feeding disc are latter disc 18 larger than that of the counting moved therefrom by the counting disc. disc 4 In a practical embodiment of the apparatus Below the 001111131118 disc 4 a Stationary plate angle of about 9 o the counting disc 4 and which to the left in Fi ure The invention will be elucidated with reference 1 partly overlies the feeding disc a to the accompanying drawing, showing some em- The plate and the annular ledge are bodiments. Though the apparatus is suited for Secured ona stationary plate I 4, which plate at Fig. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for seplying 011 the feeding i I om being hurled arating coins of different diameters. 55 O i disc by the ntrifugal force.

, tating ing edge thereof have previously .ment the coins are The coins spread out on the feeding disc I in a single layer are forced against the circumference of the counting disc 4 by the rotating movement of the feeding disc I, so that the counting cavities in the counting disc are filled with coins, while the coins that are not received in a counting cavity are passed along the circumference of the counting disc 4 by the movement of the feeding disc I and are used for a subsequent counting.

Initially the coins introduced into the counting cavity are moved towards the center of the disc l, and therefore, forced against the bottom of the counting cavity. According as durin the rotation the counting cavity lags-behind .relatively to the feeding disc I the coins, however, are urged towards the leadingedge of the counting cavity.

At the place wherethe counting cavity intersects the counting disc this edge'iorms an angle which is smaller than 90 with the tangent to the circumierence of the disc so that the counting cavity may be said to be undercut relatively to the feeding disc I. The coins contained in the counting cavity will remain in engagement with the leading edge thereof owing to the feeding disc l rctating at a higher speed than the counting disc 4 and owing to the shape of thisleading edge, as described, they will remain in this counting cavity until an imaginary line in alignment with the leading edge of the countin cavity passes through the center of the feeding disc I. Approximately from this place onwards the curved ledge 13 extending over the plate lis provided along the circumference of the disc 4, which ledge prevents the coin contained in the counting cavity from being again removed therefrom by the romovement of the disc i.

in the counting cavity but which accommodation against the lead been taken along by the rotating movement of the feeding disc I or are removed from the cavity past the wedgeshaped end of the ledge 13 by the more rapid movement of the feeding disc l. Thus always but one coin is separated by each counting cavity, as may be seenfrom Figure 3.

It will be clear that for a proper operation of the apparatus which requires that each time only one coin be separated by a counting cavity, the diiierence in diameter of the coinsto be sorted is limited. It, for example, the diameter of the smallest coins is less than half the diameter of the largest coinsit might occur-that two small coins are still contained \inthe countin cavity after this cavity has passed the extremity of the curved ledge l3.

The leading edge ofthe counting cavitiesinstead of being rectilinear can also be curved, in such a manner that the angle formed by a tangent to this curved leading edge and the outer circumference of the counting disc 4, at the place where these .lines intersect, is smaller than all other angles formed by tangentstcthis-curved leading edge and the outer circumference of the counting disc 5. Counting cavities of such a design also render it possible toseparate and to count irregularly shaped discs, such as e. g. oval tablets.

When the counting leading edge of the were contained did not find an disc 4 continues its movefirst slid across the feeding disc! rotating below the counting disc and after the circumference of-thefeeding disc Lhas been Other coins which formed. The the circumference of the plate l2, by means .issuited to separate three coins passed they are taken over and passed further across the stationary plate 12. At the place the counting cavity intersects the circumference of the counting disc d this edge forms with the tangent to the circumference or the counting disc an angle which is larger than 90.

As a result the coin which is moved along by this trailing edge of the counting cavity is kept forced against the inner edge of the ledge 13.

Along the inner edge of the ledge l3 sorting apertures l6, l1, l8, l9 and 2E} are provided in of which, therefore, five kinds of'coins of difierent diameters can be sorted. The outer edge of said apertures (as seen looking from the center of the disc 5) is located at a small'distanceirom the inner edge of the ledge 13, so that a support for the passing coins is distance from the inner edge of the aperture iii to the inner edge of the ledge i3 is slightly larger than the diameter of the smallest coins, so that said smallest coins upon passing the aperture will tilt and drop therein and are'thus separated, as is shown in Figure 4.

Coins of a larger diameter, however, will also be supported on the inner side of the aperture and are passed across the aperture by the counting disc 4, as is shown in Figure 5.

From the remaining coins the coins of the smallest diameter are again separated by the subsequent sortin aperture ii and so on until the coins-of the largest diameter drop through the last aperture 2%].

The coins dropping through the sorting apertures can be counted when they slide through a discharge funnel, this counting may be effected by means of an electric contact or a photo-electric cell. .In this manner all the different kinds of coins supplied by the counting disc are sorted according to their diameter and at the same time the numbers of each kind of coin are separately recorded.

It is also possible only to sort the coins of different diameters in the manner described above and subsequently to separately count the coins of equal diameter. This can be effected by again separating these coins of equal diameter one by one by means of around disc having a counting cavity. and to pass these coins to a discharge funnel, provided on the inside of the ledge IS in the plate !2. This counting can be efiected by means of an electric contact or a photo-electric cell, whereby a counting mechanism is. operated each time when. a coin passes.

This counting can also beeffectedmechanically if theroundcountin disc with counting cavities is automatically brought to astandstill by a stepping. device each time after a given number of coinshas been depositedin the discharge funnel.

Figure 6 finally-shows a countingcavity, in the three recesses are a counting disc having leadingedge of which provided. Thisv counting disc at a time.

11 claim:

1. An apparatus for separatingand, if desired, sorting flat circular. objects, in which a segmentshaped marginal portion of a counting discrests .on a horizontal feeding surface which is movable in a horizontal direction within a confining wall, which counting disc hasitscircumference provided with incisions, the side wallslof which, in the same sense make a sharp angle with the circumference of the discand which dlSG,-jfittilflg within a ledge partly surrounding it, is mounted terized in that the circumference of the circular on a vertical shaft for rotation over a support counting disc crosses the circumference of the comprising one or a plurality of discharge aperlikewise circular feeding disc at an angle of about 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, chardisc being so coupled with a driving mechanism aoterized in that above the rotary fiat feeding said disc being so designed that when the ap- 15 Refel'ences Cited in the file this patent paratus operates normally the two discs move in UNITED STATES PATENTS lap, the feeding disc moving at a higher speed zz Jan i% than the counting disc, and that furthermore the 1927265 Hume 1933 fiat circular objects lying on the feeding disc are 20 2 356 271 removed therefrom by the counting disc.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, charac- Reynolds Aug. 22, 1944 2,370,969 Kantor Mar. 6, 1945 

